Nuba welcome rebel-Sudan govt declaration

Nuba people in South Kordofan and in South Sudan refugee camps have widely welcomed the Declaration of Principles, signed by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and rebel leader Abdelaziz El Hilu in Addis Ababa on Thursday.

People in Kauda, the stronghold of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) El Hilu faction in South Kordofan, and in the Ajuong Thok refugee camps in South Sudan, celebrated the signing on Saturday.

Kajo Shayen, head of the Nuba civil society organisations in South Kordofan, told Radio Dabanga that he considers the agreement between Hamdok and El Hilu “a bold and important step to address the roots of the Sudanese problems in a transparent and sincere way”.

“We all hope that the two parties will soon enter into direct negotiations based on the six principles agreed upon in Addis Ababa, to reach a just and comprehensive peace that meets the demands of the Sudanese people, addresses the grievances of the marginalised peoples in the country, and guarantees religious freedom and other basic freedoms,” he said.

Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok told leading members of the Sudanese Professionals Association, the driving force behind the revolution, yesterday that he talked with Abdelwahid El Nur, head of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement in Darfur, during his meeting with El Hilu in Addis Ababa last week.

Hamdok did not provide any details but described the phone call as “positive”.

Political parties

Sudan’s two largest parties for decades, the National Umma Party (NUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), have also welcomed the Addis Ababa agreement.

The Communist Party of Sudan signed a political declaration with SPLM-N El Hilu in the Ethiopian capital on Sunday. In the document signed by Mohamed Mukhtar El Khateeb, Political Secretary of the Communist Party, and Abdelaziz El Hilu, the two parties agree that they are opposed to the inclusion of religion in politics.

They further emphasised that the future constitution and other new laws should not derogate from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional conventions. The new constitution should guarantee full equality of all Sudanese, based on citizenship, respect for beliefs and traditions, and regardless of religion, race, gender, culture, or language.

The two parties further agreed to work together “to protect the people's right to change and freedom, and to complete the tasks of the revolution”.

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